Blazing Mental
by Lord Kelvin
Summary: Anything to have her back. Even if it means losing the rest. I don't care if my skin is scorched and my eyes are frozen. No imp, no Rouge, no G.U.N. can stop the sacrifice. My world for Blaze's smile.
1. Postponed

Welcome to a world where second chances are a myth. Join Silver as he pursues his dream through ice, flame and the nightmare that is reality without Blaze. Expect to find all your favourite characters in this major production.

Feedback is golden.

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are copyright SEGA.

_**Blazing Mental**_

**Chapter 1: Postponed**

Fate never intended him to be lucky. That's why he was so difficult to convince it existed.

Silver the Hedgehog stopped counting his failed trips through time and space. No world or era offered him the one thing he wished to attain. Ever since devilish flames had taken her away, Blaze the Cat became unapproachable.

The hedge tried not to sulk. Not that he could, fatigued and dehydrated from the previous warp. Silver must have lost his ride, a Chaos Emerald, somewhere. Regardless, it would be found again and again, until life was drained from him by time itself.

For now, he decided to take a breather. The latest trip took more than the teen could have expected. Resting back against a wooden box, he did everything he could to whirr away memories of disaster. The world he had previously visited was perfect…no eternal evil lurking around, without death plaguing everyone he loved. It had but one problem: _his_ Blaze had already found her Silver in that universe.

Tears must have been flowing out of his eyes for a while, because sight was blurred, marred up in green. Rubbing his lids to help the sore sensation, the hedgehog felt different in general. He glanced down and found that his looks changed, too. His spiny grey hedgehog physique was clad in camouflage wear; he saw an earpiece and some wired electronics. The gear seemed heavy, especially the thick combat vest on his torso. What caused the change? Why did teleportation fail? Silver had accomplished many time travels, but never returned altered. So many questions, and no answers. Felt like home. A buzz in his ear suppressed a ready sigh.

"Had enough time travel, eh?"

Rouge.

"…What happened to me?" he asked hesitantly.

There was a giggle on the line, but why couldn't she sound more like _her_. "A nice way to greet your superior officer, me, Colonel Rouge. You'll get in trouble with Vector if he finds out."

Silver just groaned. The world was difficult enough to understand on normal days. "Look, I'm lost. You're not helping."

"Oh…the drug is still in effect," Rouge's whisper came from his communicator. Tugging on it didn't help because it was somehow attached to his head.

Sensing the hedgehog's discomfort, the female bat continued: "We don't have much time. The military saved you from Eggman… Just know that you are the property of G.U.N. now."

The time traveller remained silent for a moment. If Rouge hadn't helped him in the past, he'd have been eager to find the off switch. Her voice was causing him a nauseating headache.

"I must find Blaze first. Favours will have to wait," he mumbled weakly.

One thing for sure, he couldn't stand up. Limbs wouldn't respond strongly enough.

He could then feel a smile forming on her face somewhere far. "Don't worry, the relaxant will wear off soon. You agreed to this for a reason," she explained in a rather seductive manner. Had Silver been less dazed, a hint of innocence would have spilled over his cheeks.

Clatter could be heard. Multiple mechanical sounds reached him. Alarmed, Silver asked her to stop explaining.

"Someone's coming."

"Watch yourself, you're on bandit territory," she murmured. A click shut off the communications uplink.

Toy soldiers. I have more important things to do, Silver thought. Truly, his single constant ordeal to find a long lost friend remained priority one for...how long now? The youth looked down: his eighteenth birthday would come soon. Another year of hoping someone would hear the wish.

"I miss you, too," he spoke to the shadows under his breath.

The body felt even more awkward now. His legs tensed, muscles contracting. Fingers, once limp like rubber, regained their sensitivity. Silver shot up to his feet and was about to stretch out, but an approaching beeping noise forced a different style of behaviour upon him.

At first, the hedgehog couldn't understand its meaning. Using telekinesis, Silver raised himself off the ground to noiselessly peer from behind a cargo crate. The building he had appeared in was a warehouse of sorts. It looked rather new and important. Barred windows, sturdy concrete walls, rows of containers and crates.

Movement above. A crane shifted position on the ceiling. Its claw raised some supplies to slowly transport them outside, letting Silver take notice of the path. Being trapped indoors did not feel nice and it got worse when his eyes spotted Doctor Eggman's menacing moustachio logo on the shifting container.

So that was the villain's outpost.

Levitating further, Silver caught sights of a metal-spine hedgehog. Several odd-shaped humanoid figures stood near the steel robot. The noise was coming from him. Silver attempted to recall something about that…thing. It resulted in a bitter revelation.

Metal Sonic.

Something went off in the left side of his head, coming from the earpiece. Then, miraculously, the mechanical beeps were replaced by regular voices as if under translation.

"All E units report current mission status," ordered the recognisable robot.

Other machines in the room replied in unison: "Diversion. Master registration: Metal Sonic."

"Confirmation recorded. Initiate stealth mode. Doctor Robotnik must be saved for master unit's plan to proceed."

"Moving," acknowledged the subordinates before disappearing completely.

The menacing blue mech stood still for a short moment in complete silence. Its stalker waited impatiently for Metal Sonic to leave the premises. That evil doctor was probably up to no good if his robotic alpha lackey was allowed to roam freely once more. Hopefully, Rouge remained on the line and would soon instruct him on what to do next. Silver tapped the communicator to get her attention. Sound was offline, and further tinkering gave him only deafening static. They deserted him with, Silver gulped down a large painful nerve lump at the thought, Metal Sonic.

Silver began hyperventilating from the responsibility thrashed on his young shoulders, heart racing while the skin boiled in its own sweat. The hedgehog's breath sounded so loud in his ears he shut the mouth and nostrils in hope a scream hadn't blown his cover.

Exactly what has happened. Metal's head turned, one electronic iris fixated on the intruder. The hedgehog wanted to run and find a better hiding spot, yet he had lost contact of the hostile. To his misfortune, Silver couldn't even move, until a dull hit set his petrified body skidding to a hard container.

Knocked down face-first, the furry creature couldn't see the attacker, but he could hear a trigger being tensed for a quick shot.

"Silver the Hedgehog," Metal Sonic identified him, quickly analysing the eavesdropper. His gun returned to an idle stance, as the youth's gear posed a threat to the action plan. "Termination postponed. All life form readings are to remain constant."

Instead, the machine hoisted the immobilised stalker, locking his neck while using the other arm to latch onto Silver's communicator. The hedgehog whined from a burning sensation deep in his hearing canal, as if the whole thing was setting sparks to his brain during a rough short-circuit operation.

"Let go of me," the stoned puppet groaned.

"G.U.N. probe located," said Metal, ignoring the hostage's weak squirming. Silver could smell smoke while an extremely loud sizzle was out to pop his eardrum.

"All uploads on halt. Your employer will not interfere."

With that, the robot let go of him, moulding the durable claws into their default state. Silver turned to face the opponent, now conscious that he could move again.

Looking at Metal from the ground was a scary experience. The AI's body was built with huge precision to turn every angle and edge into a melee weapon. Even the abdominal turbine that enabled limited flight could easily be used to slice an attacker's fist off. Eggman or _Robotnik_, as he liked calling himself, knew how to make a psychological attempt to destroy a foe.

"What are you talking about?" Silver complained, looking at Metal slightly below the eyes.

"You wear the enemy uniform. Your kind are a threat to Doctor Robotnik and Metal Sonic by proxy," explained the collected voice.

The hedgehog rose up to his feet, making the robot step back and aim a laser at the threat. Silver raised his hands apologetically and sighed. "Look, I just want to find a Chaos Emerald and return to Blaze."

Metal turned off the weapon and whispered something very fast. At one point, the voice turned to static. It probably meant that the robot searched for something in a memory server. When it stopped, the machine's front panel opened and a shiny green emerald appeared in Metal's claw.

"Is this what you are looking for?" the fake hedgehog asked, extending his arm.

Silver's eyes flashed of hope and he tried to nick the jewel. Too slow, as the robot pushed him back to the floor before he could take a hit.

"Give it back!" he exclaimed, searching for something fit to drop on the unfair enemy.

The look in Metal's eye diodes made him stop. Metal Sonic did appear like a certain blue friend of Silver's in many ways, even if he was just a manufactured steel clone. Hurting that thing with an intelligence programmed after a living being would have been wrong in the first place. Maybe he'd settle it peacefully? After all, it didn't sound like the awkward companion meant any harm. His goal was just to save something important, too.

Silver delved in thoughts, waiting for a reply. Silence always reminded him of moments with Blaze, the only serene episodes in life. A lot of things reminded him of Blaze, now that the teen thought about it. He smiled, somewhat oblivious to the fact a killer robot stood next to him.

Such idleness came to a halt when the aforementioned bot stepped forward, pacing to arm's length distance, levelling to Silver in height. "Negative. Aid E units in reaching Delta Complex to receive payment," the voice chip bleeped out, nearly touching the hedge's nose with the desired gem.

"I'm no mercenary," huffed Silver, pushing the hand out of his personal space.

Metal had little understanding of emotional gestures, much like his organic prototype. Moreover, he perceived Silver's complaint as a logical fallacy that hindered progress. It initiated the aggressive defence protocol. Metal poked the boy's chin with a very sharp fingertip…like a bully.

"Ancient proverb, hedgehog: 'Actions speak louder than words.' This unit requires record of allegiance," shared the robot, tapping Silver's chin some more. "Friendly entities are crucial. Enemies are obsolete."

Noticing that the hedgehog got annoyed enough to lift a huge cargo box via telekinesis, Metal stood back, taking aim of the teen's head once more.

"Which are you?" asked the bot.


	2. Urchin Tears

**Chapter 2: Urchin Tears**

Silver huffed. "You're a machine…and probably won't understand my answer."

One of Metal Sonic's arms morphed into a weapon barrel. He was running out of time and if the hedgehog insisted on being idle, it would be a threat to the whole operation. "Irrelevance is obsolete. Are you?"

The robot really had it in him. Metal has never really done anything evil for Silver to witness, but the idea of helping Eggman's invention sounded fishy. Still, it was the only quick way to get a Chaos Emerald and get back to finding Blaze. Being targeted didn't matter.

"No."

Metal took a more relaxed stance, turning in the sun's direction. The entrance must have opened wide to let more light in.

"Help E units to receive the emerald."

"Are you sure nobody will get hurt?

Sonic's look-alike beeped a few times. "This intelligence must save Doctor Robotnik. Search and destroy is not a priority."

"I'll take your word for it," Silver nodded.

"Waypoint map uploaded. Go," Metal ordered, before blending in with daylight and running off.

The organic life form was weak and emotional. Silver couldn't even put the cargo box down after lifting it out of irritation. The male's G.U.N. uniform, however, offered more leverage than necessary to assure success. Strong infatuation with the female from the future made him a good ally, even if short and expendable. Having chosen a side, he'd stick to it long enough.

Metal Sonic would benefit from the surprise meeting. Eggman's signal was turning weaker every day, and while power chips of all robots were linked to that man, he remained an unsolvable nuisance. Speeding down a dirt road with the jet turbine offline would guarantee a satellite lock on Silver the Hedgehog and much-needed safety from G.U.N. patrols.

Left alone in the warehouse, the teen was impressed and even scared by the robot's senses. Seconds after his disappearance, the military stormed the building. Armed from head to toe, soldiers searched everything in sight. Some of them had exoskeletons with robotic legs and large cannon modules. Others wore strange helmets with a single tomato-sized eyeball that emitted light. Silver had never seen humans in such a getup. Then again, if Rouge was with them, they were probably just assuring good order.

A figure appeared right in front of him. The uniformed being was just as tall as the hedgehog. A lot more muscular, wearing some expensive-looking equipment and a disturbing fly-eye face mask. He held shard-like stars between long curved fingers.

One hand pointed threateningly at Silver and made a swiping gesture to the side. The time traveller just took distance, baffled and weary. Noticing that, the militant newcomer put the set of stars back in a small container below his gloves and took off the armoured gas mask. It revealed a discontent face of a purple chameleon.

"Put down the stolen cargo or behold my ninja powers!"

Oh! Silver had completely forgotten to put the levitating box down. He blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry…umm, Sepia, right?"

The chameleon frowned. "It's Mr. Chameleon to you, private," he reprimanded and quickly peeked around the corner to check if they had privacy. "But you can call me Es-pio. Colonel Rouge warned everyone you'd be confused."

Silver didn't know whether to agree or feel insulted. A ticking sound in his ear made the choice for him. Time was of the essence, and he had none for offence. "So can you explain what's going on?"

Espio jumped atop a tower of transport boxes without any warning to set a stream of projectiles at something outside. The tiny stars managed to fly between the window's iron bars and reach a tree branch outside. A bird had landed on it. The chameleon killed the innocent creature for no reason.

Remorseless, the combatant leapt back with instructions. "Reach our HQ at Delta first. We need to repair your sat nav. What did you do?"

Was he talking about the communicator bolted to his head? It could spell trouble. "I…fell…a few times. Was dizzy," Silver lied. The timer had gotten louder.

"You better hurry. Just don't use anything Chaos. Anomalies may set the barrier on permanent lockdown," warned the soldier before trailing off.

Silver waved goodbye. He managed to cruise through the ant trail of G.U.N. operatives surrounding the warehouse. Hopefully, they wouldn't harm more birds.

Outside looked normal: deep blue sky, glaring sunshine and no clouds. It meant a nice and cheerful day for people with normal lives. For Silver, solar flares meant a considerable nuisance and an eyesore. He didn't like extremes, especially nice ones that always made him paranoid. Metal came up offering him an emerald, and now Espio asked him to go to the same spot, Delta, wherever that was. Yes, he'd need to pin the location first. He levitated up to the fifteen-metre-high rooftop of the surrounded warehouse. The view was much better from there.

The small weakly-defended building was located amidst pine woods. Majestic trunks towered the land in dark green. Mature birches and maples drizzled softer shades in the big picture. If that was a base of some sort, Eggman had gone to great lengths to hide it from civilisation.

And he might not have been the only one. There was a peculiar shine coming from several kilometres away. Needing more altitude, Silver pounced on a flexible birch and began shuffling up. The tree was tall enough to give him a more detailed outlook.

Eggman's outpost lay in a huge green valley. Shaped like a sink, it was rimmed with bald mountain tops, preventing random travellers from straying into the zone. For a worthy cause, too. A hill had somehow limped into the sink's centre. A dominant brown streak meant that there was a road leading down, but Silver's sight moved higher to the strong gleam. It was a building. Enclosed in barbed wire. That must have been the G.U.N. HQ Espio had mentioned earlier.

Now, if he could just find a safe way back.

"Whoah!" exclaimed the hedgehog, support swaying from his hands. The tree was falling down!

He tried to push away, but the branches smacked him in the face. Struggling got him into a leafy mess, and the crackling sound from below meant lots of hurt. Silver closed his eyes, sealing himself in a tight bubble to defy gravity. The tree crashed without him, and the teen could descend safely to remove the leaves and twigs out of his quills. And be shouted at.

A G.U.N. patrolman with an eye helmet approached him. "Are you blind, man? You'll call out more urchin tears if you keep playing top rodent here."

Silver looked down shamefully. Not that it was clear what he did wrong, but neither levitation nor tree climbing appealed to those people. "I'm not…" whispered the hedgehog, catching a glimpse of the strangely equipped soldier in hope of forgiveness.

Phew. The guy turned around to work on something. Curious, the teen inspected the process. That person was putting together some sort of timer. Several others were doing the same near the warehouse's corners. Silver first wondered whether it would be polite to interrupt, but he _had_ to know.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

The soldier's large eyeball moved to picture the hedgehog. "We're blowing up this dump."

Wait! He was not allowed to climb a tree and those people can raze the whole place? Silver grimaced indignantly, causing an immediate reaction. The man stopped working on the bomb and took off his headgear. Now he looked almost normal for a human being. The teen hadn't expected a pale long-faced young adult under all that high tech. Stark emerald eyes stared into the hedgehog's bewildered glance. The soldier's lips quivered as he tried to say something, but words wouldn't come out.

He just looked at the dark midday sky worriedly. "The road moved again. We've lost our trucks."

The answer didn't tell him anything. How could a road move? Silver felt he didn't wish to find that out and decided to inquire something else. "Can't you call a helicopter for help?"

A weak grin formed on the soldier's face as he patted the confused hedgehog's shoulder. It was the kindest touch he had experienced since returning to that world. "You better run to our field HQ. The sky is clear…" the young man said, not losing sight of the deep blue above.

Silver joined him to gawk for a spell. The heavens looked nice and cool. He used to smile at the colour: serene, yet firm like Blaze's attitude. Again, the boy caught himself daydreaming. To be completely honest, though, someone else found him guilty of stalling.

Espio's huffing approach was heard. The chameleon thought little of stealthy entrances. "Come here!" he barked at Silver, scowling at the lad's tardy pace. "You must have something against ninja advice." The chameleon grabbed his collar, pressing the infantile boy's wet nose to his scaly face. "Don't go sniffing for answers like a needy brat. We're all edgy, so you might get hurt. The whole valley is one big mistake and anyone slowing us down now puts more than his life at risk." He squeezed the collar tighter. "I got here with fifty men. There's twelve of us now! We've missed Metal _again_, couldn't find Eggman and our comms are down. Cause us trouble, and I promise we'll find a scapegoat for this mission, ninja's word."

The hedgehog felt all chewed over when Espio dropped him to the ground. Getting up, he thought it was a lot more comfortable with Metal Sonic earlier. At least, that robot didn't shout at him and his breath didn't reek. Remaining silent, Silver glared at the hothead. The mad lizard let go, sure, but left him no room for words. Espio demonstratively pulled out a shuriken.

"You have three to get out of my sight or Vector will have to admit he was wrong about you. One!"

Silver couldn't believe that. Why was everyone so mean to him in the first place? Who did they think they were? He's done nothing wrong. "You guys are crazy!" he yelled.

The look on the soldier's face was not blissful. His yell shortened the fuse more.

"Two!"

Seeing that a few G.U.N. troops joined Espio in the life threat, the hedgehog began retreating. "F-fine… See you."

"Three!"

Running away like a stray hound, Silver zoomed past the first trees, thinking it would be enough. But no, branches started falling down. Whole pines tumbled afterwards, clear-cutting the path. The hedge gulped, striding deeper into the woods until their voices couldn't be heard.

"You're too hard on the kid," the emerald-eyed man told Espio back at the warehouse.

"Tell that to the next curtain call," retorted the chameleon, nodding that Silver got the message. "Ready for fireworks?"

Sure enough, Silver had enough action for one day. With hands over his head, the boy looked around fearfully. The tree next to him was knocked off ten metres from its stump. He shuddered, trying to get up. Why was everyone so mean to him? Sure, Espio's team got lost, but why blame your failures on the first new person? The answer would sadly have to wait, a buzz in his earpiece taking up more attention.

He tapped it a few times, making a message sound out: "…a recording. Silver, we've lost track of you. Reach the central area ASAP, but stay low. Touch nothing; trust no one. This is a recording. Silver, we've lost-"

Another poke shut it off again. He could now remove the device and unplug his ear. It felt much better that way. The hedgehog would have to find the G.U.N. base and demand an explanation. Though, just before he got ready to move out bravely, a shockwave knocked him down.

Kissing the tree stump with his snout, the hedge blacked out on the wobbly world. Whatever had caused that made him lose consciousness for a few good hours: the shadows moved. Five in the afternoon according to his watch. Just great! Several hours lost and now he could only guess which way was right. He sighed, hoping for Espio's path of destruction to give him directions.

He turned around and saw the forest, plain and wholesome. All was sound, and not a single leaf misplaced. The violently erected stump was there, but other wreckage disappeared. Silver shuddered and bit his upper lip to remain quiet. Wrong things were happening in the woods. He'd try not to think about them. Maybe the explosion just chucked him further away? Yes! That's a rational explanation, as Blaze would have said.

Silver smiled, deciding to use shadows as a pathfinder. With barely a few kilometres separating him, the hedge would be at the goal in no time. And the idea hadn't left him for a second. The woods didn't seem scary at all after half an hour of walking, but the hedgehog kept his guard up like Rouge's message had suggested. He didn't pick a single berry and dodged edible-looking mushrooms even though his tummy protested.

However, when the forest darkened at front, Silver's attention turned to alarm. Before him stood an unusual wall of shades, hanging from the trees. It fluttered silently in the soft wind like a thin veil. The whole thing looked amazing and scary at the same time. Its nearly obsidian colour clashed with the tree bark's brown. Approaching the veil let him see it was made of the thinnest strings tied together, like a masterfully hand-crafted fabric or locks of wet hair.

Probably someone lost a parachute.

Pacing closer, Silver yelped upon examining the obstruction: it crackled and popped like an electrified rug. He stopped for a gulp as he stared at the long strands of unknown substance. Would it really be bad if he just moved a part away to pass? Probably not.

The hedgehog reached out and parted his fingers to touch the hair-thin shroud's edge as low as the knee. Eyes closed, he pulled it aside and quickly jumped forth. Ah, no harm done, he thought, trying to ignore its rattling noise.

Rubbing his palms to clean them of moisture, the teen noticed discomfort. Looking down, Silver saw pieces of his glove sliced through, along with singed fur beneath their material. Silver's pupils widened, the head shaking warily in denial. Parachutes don't give you burning papercuts.

A low grumble reached his ears. He turned in its direction. "W-who's there?"

Not a soul in sight. The boy looked back, holding his aching hand. His grip turned into a nervous squeeze when Silver noticed the whole forest was full of those shady veils. Everywhere, they had him surrounded, each ready to put him in pain the moment he'd try to flee.

More grunts had occurred.

"Hello?" He walked absentmindedly in haste, anywhere but here. The sound only turned louder over time. "Show yourself! What are you?"

All the freaky tree blankets hissed at the scream, making him trip from clumsy gawking. Getting angry, the teen was about to stand up, but froze on the spot. Silver couldn't believe his eyes. The forest wind was… It's impossible!…the wind really was…alive.

* * *

Now you have gotten a preview both of some characters involved and the world they inhabit. Don't expect the unexplainable to cease in the next chapter, but be sure that the puzzle forms a picture. Starting with chapter three, there will be no notes or announcements. Please express your opinions and expectations in a review. They are most useful while the fiction is still young.


	3. Blurry

**Chapter 3: Blurry**

The air in front of him moved in a trance. It swirled and pulsated, nearly touching Silver's muzzle. Stable and powerful, it had dug a pit in the mossy forest floor. Rumbling was coming from inside; the sound of a hungry brown bear coaxed to attack made the teen crawl backwards.

Panting, the hedgehog looked at the nearly invisible spherical wrongness. His quills shot upright in panic when the anomaly moved towards him. Shambling further away until he was rammed to a tree, Silver watched the human-sized thing press on foliage to pass freely.

It moved with no haste, easily granting him a minute to watch the distortion that both reflected surroundings and made them appear fuzzy. Silver could stand up and control the fear.

I am brave. Blaze told me so. I am brave, the hedgehog kept repeating inwardly.

His mantra brought positive effect. Despite Rouge's warnings, he had to satisfy at least some of that boyish curiosity. If the unexplainable shrouds hanging from trees caused burns and cuts, he'd need to uncover the mystery of that new finding, too. Silver picked up two things: a rock and a long stick.

First, he chucked the rock at the hazy gas sphere. It swirled to a halt the instance it entered the phenomenon, and only Silver's keen senses could track what happened next. The stone turned hot-white and was ejected out of the weirdness into a tree, leaving a black burn mark.

The finding made him slightly worried. At least he hadn't touched that. Though, no use wasting a nice twig. Silver poked the fuzzball curiously, a tight nervous smile keeping him together at an arm's length from the bubble.

Reaction was imminent once again: the low-pitched grunt turned louder as the twig pierced an invisible outer layer. Instantaneously, nearly half of its length exploded in Silver's hand. The splintery crash made him stay back even more, shaken from destruction caused by a-an air bubble!

"What are you?" he asked the aerial ball, thinking it's alive.

As expected from a gust of wind, it just whistled dully before carrying on to trench the woodland floor. It soon reached the shadowy veil that had hurt the hedgehog. The moment they collided, the dread hanging from that tree caught fire. Sparks splittered at contact grew into blazing contamination until its substance fizzled out of existence.

It was a long-awaited opening in the hazardous barrier. Now, he knew an easier way to continue his trip to G.U.N. as the anomaly curved to pierce through the dark walls up front. Provided the trail left by the wind trap wasn't poisonous or something, he'd follow through while it's possible to move on. But why did it not make his heart ease down at all? Silver cringed from his own audible whining, fingers sinking into tree bark behind him. Just glimpsing forward was a challenge. The boy realised that the moment his eyes would turn in the necessary direction, he'd be forced to go on. Maybe if he just stopped there, it wouldn't get any worse?

Silver got down to his knees, grasping the aching head. "Why aren't you here when I need you the most? Promise me I'll find you this time…" he whispered to Blaze. Only a soulmate could hear him now, even if she remained out of reach for years.

The woods weren't essentially menacing. Pines grew in several rows nearby, a mess of lighter green a distance away. More interesting life started there: taller grasses, lush berry bushes, willows and birches climbing to the skies in view. He could have sworn some birds were singing there, but it would take effort to pace through. Ruining the image of natural serenity were the awful curtain-like extensions hanging from branches. From pure black to grey in colour, the odd, scolding appendages hung from multiple trees. Some remained near the tree caps, others flowed all the way down to the forest floor.

Strangely enough, a closer look gave the impression they somehow grew into, or from, the trees, as the veils had visible dark leaves at the thick base at the top greater in girth than the host branch itself. He could cross out the haunted forest or lost sail explanation for sure. In the future, they could make trees bigger and better by injecting them some wood from specially cultivated trees. Silver would have considered mutation, but people were always against any god games back home, sickened by Eggman's day-in day-out cruelty. No, couldn't have been his handiwork either; Eggman hated animals, not plants.

He didn't even notice how feet brought him out of the spiky flora region. Silver smiled, getting those last shudders off. In the action perspective, it was the most excitement he'd felt in a while. The rush intensified the hedgehog's senses, and he could be braver than usual. Blaze would have appreciated that.

Sighing, the teen scouted the area. Daydreams would only interfere and many were counting on him for once. Real, live responsibility warded his mind off idle and repetitive regrets.

Goals help people understand the joys of the little things.

With the first shrouds behind him, Silver could trot into the bushes. Inspired by his recent fearless conquest, he decided to show some initiative by disobeying Rouge. The boy plucked a few reddish berries right off the shrub and chucked them in his mouth. Sour and juicy, the taste made his mouth water with fresh saliva. Eyes closed to savour the tangy delights while a crooked giddy smile brought back carefree recollections of blissful nature. Definitely not pinacolada, but his tummy settled down somewhat. Mission accomplished? Of course, not!

The situation was practically begging him to experiment with the environment. It also set his mind off certain troubles he kept trying to block from the consciousness.

Silver bent over to clutch a warm-coloured mushroom with white dots. He remembered that some species considered it poisonous. People are weird, he thought, remorselessly chomping down the 'shroom.

It brought back a memory, a revelation: not once in the alien worlds and timelines that he'd visited he could have searched for Blaze outside some urban city or capitalist kingdom. Maybe appearing in new surroundings was the biggest scare of all. That in mind, change promised success!

He jumped from the thought, continuing to stroll. From several encounters with local quirks he'd already learnt that those delicate tree growths could only harm soft surfaces. Their fizzing and crackles had no effect on the time traveller's armour. To prevent blemishes on his hands and face, he used a piece of dry wood to move the mysterious black locks. The fifth time he passed under, Silver thought they actually smelled nice, like fresh morning dew.

Eventually, he could distinguish where each growth ended and the other began. Shadow play made him think that there were multiple impassable and overlapping walls of hazards, while in reality the veils followed the sun's trail. It made their shapes connect visually, and only a keen eye would have noticed gaps in-between; the optical illusion made it absurdly difficult.

Twenty minutes had passed when mild conditions ceased. The forest floor became dull again, pines stealing most sunlight from above. Not an animal in sight, and not a hint of that healthy green on the bottom…just dry needles. Even the weird things hanging from branches became smaller. Very few reached Silver's height, most of them short, hanging near the forest crown.

Compromise created a feeling of moderate safety. Silver had gotten acquainted with the environment enough to speed up. Haste was much more recognisable in his life, anyway. For a moment, he tricked himself into the belief all was well.

He remained ignorant in that state. The surroundings sapped enough space to block the sky from sight. Clouds have occupied the stark blue in the meantime, strange yellow streaks jumping at their low points. Even when the shades on the ground have turned pink, he assumed a sunset.

Silver stopped to think only when thunder escaped from above, with no rain or hale to follow, but that could not slow him down. He kept moving, and only later the boy admitted it was a frail escape to occupy the troubled brain. Something went seriously wrong. Blood pressure increased to cause a headache, and the boy couldn't help his quills from misshaping the hairdo he had grown into. Soft curves bolted into sharp edges, and he had no control over it. The whole body got instinctively defensive.

"Why's this happening to me?" he asked, witnessing gooseflesh.

Laughter responded him, accompanied by a familiar grumble. Thunder drowned both out later as the sky turned yellow; the air sank in a greenish aura. The mocking chuckle intensified from that point forward.

"-elp me-ee!" an echo reached him in laughter's background. "Lelp, me-eee!" the voice continued.

It stopped the hedgehog dead in his tracks. He looked around cautiously to catch the source's direction, but it was useless. The awful noise coming from above silenced the rest. Lightning shed from the clouds, making the ground rumble. No longer green, the day flashed in his eyes from a blurry grey to sharp red and back.

He felt cold inside and gripped his elbows, hunching over, even though the woodland breeze was warm. Silver would have rested somewhere were it not for the discomfort increasing every time he'd slow down. It hurt, it hurt like heck! The evil cold made his fingers numb. The hedgehog could sense fatigue encroaching, and only a different shape in the forest eased the physical stress. It was a low concrete bunker.

In size, it resembled more a half-buried kennel than a retreat, nonetheless, the only reminder of civilisation in the area. He entered, taking a breather on its rocky floor. Set half a metre below ground level, it was camouflaged well, but uncomfortable as the entrance was tiny. The space inside could fit four people if they slouched down. Silver felt bad without anyone to accompany him.

Slouching over, he wrapped both hands around bent legs; the boy's irises slid up to the sky mournfully. He was ferally compelled to watch whatever was happening.

Lights blazed in the blank pupils, reflecting the chaos around him like mirrors. Flashes and sprites of electricity blared through skyline's deep red aura. Rumbling and earthquakes made the scared hedgehog bite his lip from tension, holding on to the ground, afraid to lose grip of familiar worldly space.

Everything is wrong about this place like Espio said.

And Silver dared not to exit the shelter while the firmament remained stormy crimson. The phenomenon's intensity showed it did not intend to cease soon either. Instead, earth shook more violently, forcing the boy to lie down on his abdomen to prevent accidental injury. Eyes closed, he whined for the environmental massacre to end.

Pressure stiffened his eardrums, deafening the lonely creature for a spell. Breath turned into a series of gasps, and as much as looking outside, a fake greenish black forest with lightning bolts setting trees on fire in the background, made him curse the Chaos Emerald for returning him...home.

Unanswered questions, among other things, knotted his thoughts into an impassable maze. The body appeared too weak to support a child's sensitive psyche and refused to function. Silver's mind fell into an unconscious slumber. It was better this way. For once, he was glad not to have a say.

Lightning and flames spiralled out further into the surroundings. Powerful tongues licked the exposed surface world clean off life, assuring very few survive the mysterious blast just to disappear in loops of space and time. Whatever was the cause of all-out genocide, it remained a mystery to Silver, whose state slowly descended into the dream realm, leaving the limp body behind.

The boy could hear voices in his head: nervous, feverish ones. They sounded off to him through a fluid comatose image. A buzzing of lights added noise to the background. Fans whirred overhead. Chaotic circuitry sparkle illuminated his unsound rumination. It was underground, very deep under. Someone had built a research laboratory there. Someone…with a red moustache, a garish coat, but the man kept his back turned on Silver in the dream. He was reduced to a spectator, unable to influence the ethereal happenings, much like in real life.

"We have all the information we could get, doctor," a figure called out from afar, making the man fidget irritably

One gloved hand swiped to the side of the rusty console he stood at. Tapping. "There's more. I will have my answers."

"I won't be able to cover both of us if you stall. Greed is a lethal vice."

The fidgeting palm squeezed into a fist. He was obviously hot under the collar from the associate's attitude. "Spare the morals for the infants."

"Spare us both. They will shoot first and dissect later."

It forced the man to turn his head, creating a perfect profile shot. That nose! Glasses! Doctor Eggman! "Humour me later, then. The simulation is incomplete," mumbled the scientist, more curious about data on his screen than the other person's worries.

Silver's unreal image then shuddered like puddles in rain. Colours started fading. He concentrated on seeing and hearing everything as long as he could, fighting the urge to wake up.

"Motion scanners…"

"My laboratory," Eggman hissed maliciously, already in the form of a blob in Silver's mind.

By the time the other figure came in, everything had already become a sea of shades. He could still feel the indignation of the two characters in the vision, but the thick fog would only cover them up more.

"Motion scanners, doctor," protested the other. Greyscale shifted in outlook: the person must have walked closer.

Something broke. A growl escaped the doctor's lips. Multiple steps, the alarm sounding off further distorted the grey. Shouting and cries could have been heard, but only faint resonance imprinted itself in the hedge's realisation.

"This is my research! Mine! ...you hear!"

Those words echoed in his ears when the eyelids rose, announcing Silver's return to the waking world. Several blinks made it stable. Alas, as soon as he recognised the surroundings, curiosity and other mildly pleasant issues switched aside. So did the forest view in the bunker's exterior.

Bodies, tens of them lay on the woodland floor. Dead crows, sparrows and other little creatures littered the moss. The hedgehog pressed back to the rear wall of the safehouse. A gasp-ridden scared grin formed on his face while he looked from edge to edge. The sunset hue allowed him to see everything in more clarity than he'd wish for. How? Why? And other questions had to be pushed aside.

Fear concentrated above: straight up on the ceiling. That's where the disturbing sounds were coming from. Dot-like pupils lost half their volume at the source. It was a large four-legged thing remotely resembling a dog. He had deeply regretted staring into details. Curved claws dug into concrete held the dirty flea-bitten meaty pelt up. But it was the head that really set his quills rattling in terror. The creature's muzzle consisted of four lower jaws with holes above for a nose. No eyes.

Continuously, it was making a freaky murmur: "Leeb…leeb-eeb."

He didn't notice when his own jaw dropped down. "Help me, Blaze…" Silver whispered, biting his lip hard enough to make it bleed.

The beast's nostrils sucked in air, and then crystal black eyes impaled into Silver's. Quardruple jaws parted menacingly. "C-c-cleeb!"

"Mommy!"


	4. Knuckled Down

**Chapter 4: Knuckled Down**

Silver's eye twitched psychotically while he was crawling out of the bunker. "Nice doggy."

He retreated slowly, hoping it's some sort of blind dinosaur. At first, it seemed to work. The quadruple-jawed hound remained clung to the ceiling. Its mouth stayed closed long enough for the hedgehog to manage outside without any extra worries.

As soon as he edged through the door, though, his palm backtracked onto something cushiony. Calming himself down with all things holy and sweet, the teen glanced to the side to see what he crept into. It was a dead crow, a cold feathery empty-eyed crow. The hand quivered; his eyelids squeezed tight in disgust. Never before had he touched nasty expired things.

"Nya!" Silver exclaimed, jumping up from the spot.

Arms spread wide, he carefully paced further away from the occupied safehouse, constantly looking at the ground not to step on anything yucky. There was a clean spot several metres away. He could take a breather. Silver bent over, holding to his knees, the mouth still open from shock. The red storm killed every living creature caught in the open. Unbelievable.

The heart slowed down for the first time in minutes. Silver's eyes fell shut in an attempt to gather strength for the nerve-wracking road ahead. G.U.N. headquarters have never appeared so far away. He sighed with a succeeding nod.

Exactly when he had to dump the dinosaur theory: the dog was snorting at him. It had somehow snuck out of the bunker while the boy spaced out.

"Leeb-eeb," it sounded off in a high pitch.

Silver smiled wide and fake, a lump in his throat preventing any decent wording. "Hello, fellow vegetarian. Are-are…are you-" he stuttered lost for clues on escaping the fearsome beast.

The hound shook its head with spittle from the toothy mouth. Crackling was heard: the beast pressed its claws against the moss for a leap forward. Polite chat tactics failed pathetically. Since telekinesis would have only called out another natural disaster, Silver was very aware of one good option.

Feet swirled in place to ready him for a run, accidentally ejecting moss and dirt at the monster - further carnivorous encouragement. The hedge wanted to appear apologetic, but he preferred just staying alive for a spell.

It pounced, sharp chewers open in all four directions to swallow up the fuzzy intruder. A bare miss as Silver had already started running for the hills, much to the dog's discontent. The monster yelped awkwardly and set chase, making disturbing munching sounds as it followed the hedgehog.

Not the smartest idea when the prey was a super-sonic African pygmy. The dog, despite its muscular legs and bloodlust, could not catch up with the meal prospect on foot. Instead, it took a high jump onto a nearby tree. Claws squeezed into tree bark, leaving deep marks until a pounce on the next tree. Now, it was careful not to make additional noise above shrubbery.

Looking back to see how far he had gone from the pursuer, Silver saw nothing hostile in the distance, save for a few stinging shadow veils hanging from the trees. Hah! He had outrun the locals unscathed. That was a good reason to celebrate by taking a breather. The last time he ran somewhere was several months ago. Obviously, it meant a rather weak physical condition (the boy was overly confident in his special powers). Being unable to use them was a wakeup call the body required. His psyche would have objected, but it was all for the better. Right?

"Cleeb!" answered his question. That dog glared him down from the tree out front.

It sprung to the ground, cordoning off the path forward. Silver could hear the hound sniff loudly, filthy saliva dripping from the hungry mouth. That was when he also realised having been rammed into a thick oak. With just a few metres separating them, he knew a jump would be hard to miss.

He was desperate for a decoy, and the woods contained a magnificent amount of those. Silver grabbed a dead squirrel and chucked it at the dog, ready to loop around into safety.

The dog didn't move. It just made off with the treble noise and parted the four jaws fully like surreal meaty flower petals to reveal two rows of teeth on each. The contraption remained open until the tiny corpse appeared within range. A single crumple; the forest rat was no more.

"Hungry, huh? There's plenty more where that came from!" Silver yelled anxiously. He found a deceased ferret. "Look, a big stinky something! F-fetch!"

That time, the teen chucked a treat further away, so the dog would have had to get out of his way. Alas, the living, breathing hedgehog looked far more delicious. It led him into a panic fit. Silver picked up something else, but the lifeless forest dweller fell out of his hand on its own when the mutt lunged at him.

Silver dived into the moss face-first in hopes that the thing would choke on that large tree. To his misfortune, it merely bounced away with the help of its muscular claws already hot on the hedgehog's track. The time traveller had no chance to get up.

"Iblis was easier than this," he huffed somewhat annoyed and rolled to the side to dodge a bone-crushing mouth.

Failure. The dog swiped forth with a feral growl. Its adrenaline exploded into a killer instinct as the mouth opened wide in a dig around the hedge's limbs, managing to lock his whole leg in its enormous maw. Teeth pressed hard on his trousers and tugged back. By then, annoyance turned to screams. Silver started kicking the monster both inside and out with the other combat boot, but not even that could stop the excruciating chewing. Screams begged into moans, a growl. Animalistic self-defence instincts fired up in the boy's organism, and he threw a punch right on the dog's scalp. In revenge, the sharp teeth punctured through the skin. He wouldn't be freed easily.

"Forgive me, Blaze!" he shouted out and poked a fist right in the beast's slimy nose. Raging on, Silver scratched and twisted his finger inside the nostrils, turned away, afraid of haunting sins.

"Eeb! Leeb!" it squealed and coughed, spitting him out.

He was free to run now. Run where the eyes could see. But with what? The monster had swallowed up his shoe; the firm combat trousers were drizzled with blood stains. Immense warmth emanated from multiple gashes in the flesh, contrasted by the cool evening air. Silver took a desperate roll in a random direction, pupils hidden from fear and anguish.

Anywhere but home, anywhere but home, he chanted.

The ride ended with Silver's exhaustion, much to the hunter's delight. Having a field day, the dog's four lips pressed thinly akin to a sadistic grin to permit its teeth a quicker entry into the blood-pulsing meat. If the hedgehog had been in trouble before, now the scent of fresh crimson was bound to attract every surviving predator from the whole valley to his spot. The misguided escape left blotches of his strength on nearby plants, and it didn't look like he'd be using the injured leg anytime soon. Pain started catching up with other sensations. The area of the bite burnt and singed through the nerves. Heavy pants accompanied the irritant flashes. Some daft five kilometres, and a dog hunts him down for supper!

Sun's rays caressed Silver's muddy muzzle. His quills lay in complete contrast with the forest's green, much like the bitten-through parts of his camouflage pants did with other gear elements.

His head dropped back to the ground. Both palms attempted to reach the bleeding knee, but they started quivering even before the touch.

"Aah!" the boy wailed, receiving an immediate comeback.

The canine wasted none with the served dish. "C-c-cleeb..." it cooed with an extra set of teeth for a crunch show.

Visceral hunger rushed forward, a familiar growling noise for company. The jaws parted as far as they could, leaving everything up on a blind attack. Beastly claws pressed into the soil, and one final leap set the monster-hound airborne to gnaw Silver's abdomen wide open.

I'm so sorry… I'm so…and nothing more.

Grumbling got louder, and louder, until a split-second silence diluted Silver's pain-flooded senses. Maybe he was dead already, thankful to nature for voiding him of the last feeling of permanent violation. Hah, the leg hurt even in afterlife.

"Leeb-eeb-eeb!" did not add up.

The beast was squirming, squealing in mortal terror. It didn't manage to reach Silver. Instead, it was caught in the air bubble the hedgehog played with earlier. Rocks bounced away, twigs blasted into pieces. Flesh would…

Silver looked at the phenomenon, which has been causing the grunts, despite the pain. That anomalous haze kept the dog in gravitational hold inside, making it spin around while pressure waves mounted on the dark muscle-bound animal's body.

Able to predict the outcome, the boy hid his face behind his palms. Wave after wave, pressure grew exponentially inside the ethereal hazard until the next inward pulse squished the dog into a tight reddish mass. Bits crumbled all over the woodlands with a dull shot explosion. Silver's attire became fully stained in phlegm and shrivelled up meat. Shudders wouldn't leave him: from physical damage, moral filth, disgust. At least he wasn't the one to kill an innocent predator. One more witnessed death was not on his conscience, thankfully.

But he could not stay in place even in his current condition. The environment demanded mobility. Hedgehogs were nocturnal, just like nearly all dangerous creatures of woodland solitude. That forest, however, had even more hazards to offer. After spitting out the ground-up dog, the air bubble began its course towards Silver.

Whimpers served as a constant background; the teen wasn't used to such conditions, having to shuffle on the ground away from a ball of wind with an open wound in his leg. As soon as he'd hoist his tired body to the next shrub, he'd become too close to the relentless mobile pressure sphere for a breather. Further shambling only cost him more blood. There's no way he could carry on; yet, that was not for the injured hedge to decide. To be safe and close his eyes he'd first need to get out of the bubble's unpredictable ground level path.

Thinking about a solution, eyes open blankly, a messed up orchestral breath, he kept backtracking on his hands. Silver knew that as much as bending the bitten leg turned out impossible. He also tried not to look at it with distorted sight constantly refreshed by bitter tears on a dirty muzzle. Silver never considered himself a hero. He just…wanted to find a friend. The hostile world kept mistreating him, and-

Silver tumbled backwards. A ditch. Next time, if he survived that long, he'd have examined both front and back. Ouch. The back ached nearly as much as the leg. Grasses cushioned his fall, but were nowhere near enough to cover up rocks and glass shards on the bottom of the trench.

He groaned. Why would someone dump glass in a forest? It's cruel!

W-wait, if there was a waste dump, it meant civilisation was also close. A small smile protruded between discontent pouts. Glancing up, the teen forcibly realised he had completely forgotten about the see-through anomaly. Its low grumbles announced immediate approach.

Palms clutched onto grass on the bottom: the sight of trees above began blurring. He took a gaspy breath and stayed completely silent while the immaterial hazard slowly floated directly onto the gutter. Tension rattled in his temples when the whole floral view above turned into a hazed colour spill, filtered by the lethal anomaly. The teen couldn't shift further down or slouch over. Neither could he stop shivering at how circular winds stroked the edges of his quills. Lying that close from impending doom, its noise and dull whistling superseded the background. He could feel the air's pulse, lifting tiniest leaves from the soil to swirl them around in a warning cloud. Were it not terminal for lifeforms, he'd have considered the anomaly beautiful. After all, it saved him from certain dissection by a dog's paw.

In an absent-minded streak, he blew directly at the sphere, watching how it made the view swirl some more, but only in two-thirds of the sky. A blink was to set clarity back into his senses because that did not add up. The anomaly moved past above the ditch.

Speechlessness made him press back against broken glass, too baffled to sense discomfort. There he was, ready to somehow accept the final seconds of life as a tight meatball, and it was taken away from him. Unbelievable!

He chortled nervously, ending up with a cough. "I'm sorry. I wrongly misunderestimated you."

The teen would have smiled some, but seeing that he bled over discarded bottles and tins brought other priorities back. It was easy to fall into the dig. Getting out would be the same, only backwards. The furrow wasn't very deep or narrow, so it came down to picking the right support while bodily functions remained intact.

He remained aware of the promise: plan before you act. Loose roots and rocky soil would be enough.

"Let's go, Silvy. No need to get nervous now," he encouraged himself, hoisting up to the first root. "Medical, uh, help will save your leg." A large rock for the other hand. "Don't be silly," he sighed. "They won't amputate you." One more stone. "You're too strong to allow that. Ow."

To the hedgehog's discontent, he was tired already. The boy wheezed loudly. Blood loss weakened his arms into rubbery rags.

A glance at the calm sky would help. "Too strong to-"

"Leeb," came out of a throat that brought a long shade over him.

Silver stayed perfectly still, just biting his lip for comfort. Another hound! He was cornered in the gutter. The hedgehog begged the skies to make it go away. Whilst doing so, he started hyperventilating.

"Cleeb…" huffed the monster, pacing on one side of the ditch. Its lips firmed down while the dog sniffed air. A metal taste that was coming from Silver's direction gave it enough hints for action.

When the loose dry root the boy was holding on to popped out, hints became an obvious instinct. The roaring jaws parted above Silver's head, dribble spat on his cheeks.

He let go, skidding back to the bottom's sharp edges. "I'm not here! I'm just there without a 't'!" exclaimed the baffled dinner.

Obliviously, he started chucking random objects at the beast at the ditch's edge. The anticipated taste of tender flesh excited the predator. It made an arrogant "ck-ck-ck" sound before pressing into the ground for a swift strike.

"Help!" shrieked the teen, paralyzed with fear upon seeing the dark silhouette fly straight at him from above.

Silver could already smell the foul odour of the beast's innards, but the real thing never reached his reality. A red shape impacted with the monster, effectively pushing it out of sight. Yelps and grunts were heard afterwards. Something, or someone heard his cry for help.

What a hero, the teen thought, before his head felt too heavy to keep him awake. How could a male, a growing man be so weak? Silver's subconscious wept pitifully. He'd never save Blaze at this rate. He'd just die and rot in a garbage dump with other residue.

"Stop snivelling, Silver," a voice spoke to him in the dark. "You're getting my shoulder wet with your tears."

Huh? A strong jolt got him back to the waking world. Only now his cheek hurt more than his back and leg altogether.

"Wake up, man," the saviour ordered.

The other cheek lit up sore. That person was beating him up! "Hey, stop it!"

"Alright."

Silver rubbed his eyes off dirt and looked around. He was laid down next to a military jeep on an old unpaved road. Up front stood the one he owed two lovers' lives to, a red echidna named Knuckles. The burning of Silver's battered cheeks approved the name.

"Knuckles?"

"Don't go amnesiac on me. Are you okay?" he asked, possibly ignoring the blood-stained clothing.

"Might be. Just that, my leg…"

"I'm not much for first aid, but that'll have to do for a while," the echidna mumbled.

He pointed at a roll of duct tape around the hedgehog's leg as improvised bandage. The echidna held something in his palm, and put the other large hand on the teen's jaw.

"Open wide."

Knuckles chucked something round and nasty down Silver's tongue. It made him cough some more, the mouth wound up in a grimace.

"What is that?"

"Elephant pills. They'll keep you awake while I drive. Too much stuff is out to snack your tail off in this bowl."

The echidna spared no time on conversation. Silver quickly found himself next to the driver's seat, which the red one pushed back a bit so his bruised leg wouldn't cramp. The engine started noiselessly, and wheels spun on the spot. Some trudges preceded a turn, and the ride began.

Silver sighed, unable to comprehend relief. "Thanks."

"Spare the chat. That's the first you learn in here," he started explaining, and turned silence until the vehicle jumped up slightly on a stump. "Watch out for anything, _anything_! If it moves, whistles, anything, yell. Haven't slept for a while."

"Yell. Got it."

Hopefully, they wouldn't hit a tree with that sleepy hothead at the wheel. Silver gave himself the luxury of closing the eyes for a peaceful moment. Too much was happening outside his head.

"Hey!"

The car stopped in a stutter.

"I gave you my last elephant pills not for you to doze off!" Knuckles yelled at the boy, getting unhealthily excited, but grabbed a hold of the nerves. "Just, watch out for stumps."

Somehow, the echidna managed to start the jeep up again. Alas, Silver's eyes diverted from the pathway to his vibrating wristwatch.

"Anything on the road?" Knuckles asked, still displeased with the boy's attention span.

He sprung off for a decent look to be excused. Trees, mushrooms, rocks, road. "No." More trees on the left, metal people with guns on the right. "Wait…"

Another glance at the watch. There was a scrolling message: "E units requesting record of allegiance."

"Hmm?" the driver muffled out.

The message continued: "Keep echidna threat out of reach. Elimination is not a priority."

Knuckles pushed to accelerate, thinking that would encourage the boy to reply. Metal Sonic's robots now held both of them at gunpoint. If they stopped, Knuckles would see them. Speeding on would end up with both dead. Silver loved making the right choice.

"Knuckles…"


End file.
